NEIGHBORHOOD REPRESENTATIVES DISCUSS CRIME PROBLEMS

Representatives of Greenville neighborhoods on Wednesday listed crime
problems ranging from open-air drug dealing to illegal parking.

The comments came during a meeting of the Police Community Relations
Committee and the City Council and were solicited to give city elected
officials an idea of what various communities see as crime problems and
solutions.

About 18 speakers, most of them officers or representatives of their
neighborhood associations or community watches, spoke in order by city
election district.

Carolyn Alford of Lake Ellsworth sounded the prevalent themes of
insufficient street lighting, lead-footed drivers - and gunshots.

"We have quite a few gunshots," Alford said. The night-shattering reports
are "scary," she said, "because you never know where the bullet's going to go."

Reginald Elliott, president of the Riverdale Neighborhood Association,
cited drug dealers as a problem, as well as about 10 unoccupied or
abandoned houses that serve as eyesores and crime magnets.

He complained that there are "not enough patrols" by police, and he put in
an order for sidewalks so people with wheelchairs and canes don't become
targets for passing motorists.

Raleigh Fuller of the Cambridge Neighborhood Association asked that the
speed limit be lowered from 35 mph to 25 mph. He wanted more police
presence - especially during the day - in a community he said has outgrown
the coverage provided by existing street lights.

Lake Ellsworth resident James Bryant said he has lived in cities rougher
than Greenville, his home since 1984.

"The same things I saw happening in Brooklyn, Brownsville, east New York
are happening right here in Greenville," Bryant said. There just aren't
enough police to handle it, he said.

Kate Gemperline of the Tar River Community Watch complained of trash and
litter in the neighborhood, parking and traffic violations, and larcenies
from cars and garages.

"We have a number of assaults and robberies of pedestrians," many of them
East Carolina University students returning late at night from the downtown
area, she said.

The drug trade and use of firearms is increasing in her neighborhood,
Gemperline said.

Diane Kulik, vice president of the Lynndale Neighborhood Association,
tapped "slowing down the major drug suppliers that come to our city" as the
key to curbing crime.

"Drug traffic drives nearly all the crimes in Greenville," she said.

More local officers and joint efforts among local state and federal
authorities are needed to combat the problem, she said.

Kulik said her neighborhood is beset with automobile break-ins and thieves
who take tools from garages.

Dick Douglas of the Brook Valley Neighborhood Association said, "The only
problem we've had is increased number of cars, traffic flow."

Speed bumps placed at strategic locations have curbed the speeding problem,
he said.

Bill Ervin of the Olde Westhaven Neighborhood Association said there had
been "muggings in broad daylight" in the Carolina East Mall parking lot
near the neighborhood. A spate of mailbox-bashings destroyed some personal
property, he said.

Doug Tyson, co-chairman of the city's Weed and Seed Committee, said there
are "gangs" of 12- to 17-year-olds spreading mayhem throughout Greenville.
He also complained of convenience stores that "sell more alcohol than food."

Pitt County District Attorney Clark Everette took issue with remarks made
by one resident who characterized the drug problem as "spilling over" from
west Greenville. The problems with illegal drugs, he said, run throughout
the city.

"They manifest themselves differently," he said. In west Greenville, deals
might go down in the streets, while on the east side of town the crimes
might take place inside apartments.

"You can't have one solution to that problem," Everette said.

Increased support among community members for crime prevention and
reduction, as well as more financial resources, are part of the answer, he
said.

The City Council will use the comments to guide their discussion during a
Jan. 26 planning session where crime will top the agenda.